SPCR

To start here are the specs of the machine:

CPU: Sempron 140 (Unlocked Dual Core)
Motherboard: Gigabyte MA785GM-US2D
Memory: 1GB DDR2
PSU: Fortron 400W Sparkle
Case: Antec 300

Hard Drives:
1 - WD Green 1.5TB
2 - SG 7200.11 1.5TB (Soon to be 3)
1 - SG 400GB (In eSATA)
1 - SG 500GB (Coming Back Soon)
1 - WD Scorpio 160GB

Using the Scorpio as the OS HDD. Overall I was pretty happy with the build, so far no real issues. Although, there are only 4 HDDs in the machine right now because I ran out of SATA cables And I still haven't received my PCI-e 1x SATA Controller. I don't think I'll be doing much else with this machine. File sharing is turned on and all, and everyone in the house is enjoying the streaming thus far.

Since this is a file server I really don't care too much for how fast the machine is, but I have to say, for $40, it's faster then the other Athlon X2s in my house (3800+ and 4200+) and even the C2D E6300 in the office. I know this isn't the quietest setup in the world, but it's bearable so far. Bought a Freezer64 and a Yate Loon fan that I'll probably 7v or 5v depending if there's any point or not. The Antec Tri-Cooler 120 has this werid noise coming from it even at Low Setting so I'm junking it. Anyway that's all I have to say for now. Here are the photos! I tried my best to organize the cables.

Very usefull info! I've been looking on and off for a case to house at least 4 HDD's, seems I need to strike the 300 from my list.

spookmineer wrote:Very usefull info! I've been looking on and off for a case to house at least 4 HDD's, seems I need to strike the 300 from my list.

Strike as in remove it from your list? But, the 300 can hold more then 4. Not to mention it comes with a bag full of thumb screws for the HDDs

why use a X1 raid controller?
use a PERC 5/i X8 controller, 8 sata connectors + hardware raid

iakovl wrote:why use a X1 raid controller?
use a PERC 5/i X8 controller, 8 sata connectors + hardware raid

I only really have space left for 6 more drives. I guess a card that has 8 slots would be a lot more handy but I don't want to spend too much money on the hardware. The PCI-e 1x card for 2 slots (maybe 4 not sure) is only $20, and I don't plan on doing any RAID. Just A Bunch Of Hard Drives

He's not using an X1 RAID controller, he's adding a PCI-e x1 (that's the little PCI-e connector) SATA controller to get more SATA ports. He's probably not using RAID functions at all, just JBOD.

A $250 RAID controller would probably be a waste on money on a bunch of slower hard drives.